


Spoils of War

by HeahmundAndIvar (bvckybcrnes)



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Drunk Harald, Drunk Heahmund, Drunk Ivar, Drunken Kissing, Drunkenness, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, HeahmundAndIvar, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 01:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13353234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bvckybcrnes/pseuds/HeahmundAndIvar
Summary: A game of Tafl between Heahmund and Ivar takes a new turn...





	Spoils of War

Silence ruled. Neither man spoke with words, but the look in their eyes said it all. They were both preoccupied with deep thoughts, gazes wandering from the game board in between them up to the man on the other side of the table. The bishop sat leaning forward. One arm laid on the table, the other leaned up so that he could pluck at the dark hairs on his jawline while he inspected the board. His opponent was Ivar the Boneless. The Viking prince sat leaning forward, his cup of mead sitting right in front of him between himself and the game board.He had just poured himself a refill from the pitcher that stood next to the game board between him and the Saxon warrior. It had become a habit for the two of them, to play Tafl in order to kill all this time they had left before the next full moon would dawn upon Kattegat. Neither of them seemed to mind, however, the presence of the other and the differences between them and the things and people they believed in. The topic of religion had been touched before, but it was a sensitive one, still. 

Eventually, Heahmund saw a chance to make a move. He moved a piece, allowing himself to take one of Ivar’s from the board. Although it made the bishop feel a little proud of himself - this Viking game still felt a little odd from time to time, he did not let it seem and remained neutral when his gaze met with Ivar’s. They had likenesses among all their differences, because Ivar returned a gaze that was as neutral as the one he was receiving. 

While Ivar contemplated his next move, Heahmund took a moment for himself by taking a long sip from his own cup of mead. He was not very fond of the pagan drink, but it still tasted better than nothing, and he assumed he may just be glad that he no longer needed to drink from the same bucket as Ivar’s stinking, grumpy horse. He definitely had received better treatment compared to how he was first dealt with. It had changed Heahmund’s idea of the Vikings, but he had not yet stepped away from his disgust for them. After all, they are still heathens. 

Just like his counterpart, Ivar also took his time to make a move on the board. It was incredible how much patience both men could muster up for this game, knowing of themselves and each other that they have quite the short fuse. And it is not the only thing they have in common, for they both also enjoy the intellectual challenge. It is here that they have done well meeting each other, for both men are wise and cunning, and neither will easily give in. Both, Ivar and Heahmund have a strong feeling for victory - sore winners, one may call them.

The afternoon developed into an evening. Each time a king would fall, Ivar would switch roles with the bishop and they would start again. With time passing by, the pitcher on the table was growing lighter and lighter and now it was nearly empty. Hardly two more cups could be filled with what was left in it. Where both men once sat on their benches with pride and deep thought filling their minds and the look in their eyes, they now sat leaning on the table, influenced by the amount of cups they had downed as well as the effect constant concentration and contemplation was taking on them. They looked a little tired, but neither man wanted to give up now that the match count had ended in a tie. They would not settle down until they have run out of mead to drink, and until one of them could claim more victories than the other. 

It was the Bishop’s turn when the wooden door creaked. Ivar looked up slowly, keeping his cup up and brushing against his bottom lip when he saw King Harald had entered the house Ivar had claimed for his own for the time being. The king was laughing gleefully, his appearance a little more clumsy than usual. Ivar could easily assume he and Heahmund had not been the only ones drinking at the camp on this day. Lifting his head a little, Ivar was ready to listen to what the king had to say, but Harald Finehair only laughed and laughed while he remained stood in the doorway where he could easily lean against the wood - perhaps if he would let go, he might just fall over, flat on his face...

Bishop Heahmund did not look up until he had moved his piece on the board, and when he did he was met with a sight he had hardly expected. There was something about this King Harald that left the Bishop feeling a little odd about the man, but he never spoke up about it. In fact, Heahmund hardly spoke to anyone that is not Ivar the Boneless, for not everyone is as fond of the Saxon as their leader is.

“Ah! Here they are - boyfriends!” The king received a glare from the Saxon, but his leading companion remained indifferent and only offered king Harald a quick grin. Ivar could confirm for himself that Harald Finehair had been drinking. “Are you having sex tonight, Ivar Lothbrok?” Harald exclaimed. He was not talking, he was stating his drunk blabber somewhere between chanting and shouting - and Ivar Ragnarsson could only roll his eyes away from the king to settle them on the bishop instead. Heahmund offered him a brief glance in return before he downed the rest of his cup of mead. Harald, met with only silence in the background of their game, could only chuckle at the men and turned slowly. He wanted to leave again, but would he ever find the way out of the doorway in his drunk state? “Well... Well, you could say - the winner gets a kiss, aye?” 

Ivar tilted his head to the side with a huff when the king miraculously found his way outside. He didn’t care how many steps Harald had left before he would kiss the dirt. Reaching out, Ivar moved one of his pieces on the game board and slowly returned to his slumber while he waited for Bishop Heahmund to play his move. 

The pitcher was rendered empty shortly before the game came to an end. It was Ivar who could claim the final victory of this day. Perhaps, the bishop would find more luck tomorrow - if his God wants it to be that way. But for now, Heahmund would have to do with a loss on his name. He leaned back, leaving the game board for what it is and looked at his opponent. Ivar grinned at the Bishop, head tilted to the side a little until he shifted in his seat to move forward and lean closer towards the other. “You heard King Harald,” Ivar muttered slowly - quietly. The gaze in his eyes was a little different than usual - more tired, and a little absent. Mead had taken over and its scent resided within the Viking’s breath while he watched the Saxon. 

Heahmund remained indifferent, the mead also leaving its mark in his eyes as well as his thoughts. It took him a while, though, to anticipate - to return to Ivar what the Viking was offering him. All evening long, the game board had stood in between them and the mead that stood on that very same table was what brought them together in the end - victor and loser, the defeated fated to kiss the winner, as ordered by a king. Heahmund could not ignore such orders, feeling in his intoxicated state that he stood below this king and that he could do nothing but comply, for it is the most noble thing to do. 

Do not dishonour a king, Heahmund thought when he tasted the mead off Ivar’s lips. The moment lasted for mere seconds, but it felt like it took years for both of them - Ivar not being used to a kiss and not expecting the other to actually do it, and Heahmund contemplating the sin he had just commited - a realisation that struck him only once it was too late... Whether he would remember in the morning or not, only time would come to tell...

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://heahmundandivar.tumblr.com/) for more!


End file.
